A Day to Remember
by icyglass431
Summary: Foundation - War - Revolution - Dictatorship - War - Division - Revolution - Unification. The history of a country. a day to remember.


**A/N: Hey everyone! I know that it's very late on this (in Germany) holiday, but I had a lot do today. Still, I wanted to publish this story, because it was important for me. On a lot of holidays (especially American holidays), people publish story in this fandom. That's why I wanted to upload a story on this important German holiday, German Day of Unity. I hope you enjoy this short story!**

* * *

"_**People of the world – look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one." – Barrack Obama**_

Johanna walked up the stairs of her house. "Timo, are you ready?" she called out to her eight-year-old son. When she received no answer, Johanna opened the door to her son's room and saw him sitting on his bed. "Why are you not dressed?" she asked. "We want to visit your great-grandfather."

"I don't want to," Timo stated, his arms crossed in front of his body.

Puzzled at her son's words, Johanna sat down next to him on the bed. "Why that?"

"Every year we have to go to great-grandpa and to church. Why can't we just stay home go to the cinema or to the park like Paul does with his family? Or like Amelie? She goes to the zoo with her parents," Timo explained with a pout on his face. "Why can't we have fun?"

Johanna sighed. She gently placed a hand on her son's back and asked, "Do you know why today's a holiday?"

Timo eagerly nodded with his head. "Today's German Unity Day!"

Johanna smiled. "That's right. Do you know what we celebrate?"

Timo's happy expression vanished from his face and he shook with his head. "No."

"Let's go in the living room and I explain it to you."

* * *

Johanna and Timo settled down on the couch.

She opened up a photo album and pointed to a picture in the top left corner. "That's your great-grandfather."

"Why is he wearing that uniform? And why is the picture black and white?" Timo asked.

"It's a very old picture," Johanna smiled softly. "The picture was taken in 1942; seventy-seven years ago. And the reason he is wearing that uniform is because at that time, there was a war going on. Your great-grandfather fought in it."

Johanna looked at her son and took his hand in hers. "You're too young to understand why there was a war going on; when you are older, you will learn all about it. But to explain to you why we celebrate this important holiday, you need to know one thing: Germany started the war. When it was over, other countries ruled over our country for some time. You know, so that everything would be alright again."

"Are we celebrating that?" Timo asked.

Johanna shook with her head. "No. Although we should. But that's another story. Your great-grandfather was born in Dresden, a city in the eastern part of Germany. During the war, he was stationed in a small town in Bavaria. When the war ended, Germany was divided into four parts. The three parts occupied by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France quickly united to what would be known as West Germany. The part ruled by the Soviet Union, now Russia, would become East Germany."

"You mean there were two Germanys?" Timo asked. "Why is there only one now?"

"Exactly that is what we are celebrating with the German Unity Day," Johanna said. "Your great-grandfather stayed in West Germany. There he met a woman and started a family. Two years later, their son was born; my father. In 1978, I was born. And in 2011 –"

"I was born!" Timo explained.

"That's right!" Johanna laughed as she ruffled through her son's black hair. "The time when there existed two Germanys was a special time. Again, you will learn about that later. But important for you to know is that while the people living in West Germany could live freely and travel anywhere they wanted to, the people in East Germany hadn't had that freedom. Their government didn't want them to. And that made your great-grandfather very sad, because he could not visit his home. All those years, his greatest wish was for Germany to be united again. And in 1989, his wish became true."

"What happened?" Timo questioned as he listened attentively to what his mother was telling him.

"Since two Germanys existed, there was a border dividing them. And Berlin was a special place. It was divided too. Divided by a wall. And on November 9th, 1989, the wall came down. That night, the process of Germany's unification started. And it finished on October 3rd, 1990, when West Germany and East Germany were officially reunited. And today, we are remembering this historical date."

Johanna turned the page in the photo album and pointed to a picture in the bottom right corner, showing an elderly man smiling into the camera with tears in his eyes. "That picture was taken in the night when the wall came down. Your great-grandfather was 95 at that time and very sick. He lived with my family. When he heard the news in the radio that the wall came down, he was beyond happy. The moment he waited for forty-four years finally came true." A bittersweet smile appeared on her face. "A year later, on October 3rd, Germany was officially one country again. And in the evening, your great-grandfather passed away, overjoyed by knowing that his beloved country was finally one again. That's why we go to church and to his grave on this special day, Timo. To remember your great-grandfather, and to remember all the people who weren't lucky enough to witness Germany's reunification."

Johanna closed the photo album and looked her son in the eyes. "This year we celebrate twenty-nine years of reunification and thirty years of the fall of the Berlin wall. 2019 is a very important year in the history of our country, Timo. We also celebrated seventy years of Germany's constitution and the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany. You will learn more about our history when you are older. But one thing I want you to never forget: Freedom is fragile. We always have to fight for it. Especially we as Germans. The history of our country is proof of how hard freedom is fought for and how easily freedom can be destroyed. Do you understand?"

Timo nodded. "I do. Can we visit great-grandpanow?"

Johanna smiled. "Let's go."

* * *

Johanna put down flowers on the grave and knelt in front of it.

_Wilhelm Klink_

_May 8__th__ 1894 – October 3__rd__ 1990_

"_**Faith can move mountains; so never lose hope. Cause the strongest power is the power of imagination. Where there was a wall yesterday, children's kites will fly. And where there are tanks driving today, sunflowers will grow." – Zillertaler Schürzenjäger (band), "Dreams are stronger"**_


End file.
